


The University of Remnant

by MonoChromatix



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, Anxiety, Breakups, Character Development, F/F, F/M, Flashbacks, Fluff and Humor, Fratboy Clover, Gay Panic, Homophobia, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Panic Attacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Qrow needs to take care of himself, Slow Burn, Swearing, fair game
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-15
Updated: 2020-02-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:14:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22743097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MonoChromatix/pseuds/MonoChromatix
Summary: Trying to start a new life from his abusive upbringing, Qrow receives a letter of acceptance to the University of Remnant. Enrolled in the International Business program, he plans to travel the world without having the needing to call a place home. Little does he know, his life, beliefs, and feelings are about to take a turn…College is a time of new beginnings and self-discovery... What's going to happen to Qrow during the next four years? Who is he going to meet?
Relationships: Other Relationship Tags to Be Added, Qrow Branwen & Clover Ebi, Qrow Branwen/Clover Ebi
Comments: 27
Kudos: 66





	1. Acceptance

**Author's Note:**

> Hey y'all. So this is my first fic I've ever written. This fic is gonna be a long one for sure, and I'm sure my writing will improve as it continues! Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy it!
> 
> See the end for more notes:

His head hurt…It always did. His parents abandoned him in an alley way on his fourth birthday. They told him they had a surprise for him… And he believed them. He waited…waited…and waited for what seemed like an eternity until clouds began forming… He began to cry as he whimpered, and shivered as pouring rain started to hit his frail jacket-less body. But no one came.

After for what seemed like two hours, he slumped against a dark grey concrete wall, resting his head in between his knees. Soon, his sobs were briefly interrupted by the strong roars of lightning all around him. He then covered his ears and began to tremble greatly.  
“Where’s mom and dad?”, “Where’s my sister”, “Why aren’t they coming?”, “Why can’t they hear me…”

Soon, a tall, and slender man, wearing a dark-green trench coat with a mask, was looming over him.

“Come with me…”

“AUGHH!” His blurred eyes snapped open with a heartbeat so fast that it felt like the local Starbucks was experiencing a drought from him drinking all their coffee. As he vigorously shook his head back-and-forth, while roughly rubbing his eyes with his sweaty hands, his vision began to gain clarity…

“…Ugh…It was... just... a dream… huph… huph…. just… another…. dream….”

“…. Wait…. why does my head hurt more than usual…?”

Apparently, Qrow’s body reflexively threw himself off his bed with such force… that he ended up smacking his lamp off his make-shift cardboard nightstand with his forearm as he plummeted face-first into the cold concrete floor. As he strokes the sources of the radiating pain with his hand, he realizes that he cut his face slightly and was bleeding. He goes to the bathroom of the one bedroom apartment to wash his face. He hisses as the cold water causes a stinging sensation that slightly amplifies the pain.

Somehow, he managed to barely keep this apartment from his nighttime gig helping at a local coffee shop after running away from his last foster home four years ago. Did he ever have a plan of what he was going to do next? No. All he knew was the he was tired of moving from foster home to foster home…full of disappointments. At first, he thought that he was going to be able to find a new family…one that he could find a home in… But that never happened. His education suffered due to this. Qrow is rather nonchalant and intelligent, so his grades were never an issue- but he always was the outcast- and he began to fully accept the idea that he was the problem during high school.

Graduating from Mistral High two months ago was something Qrow desired ever since he first step foot within those walls, but he also dreaded it as well. “Would he always be a hired hand for the coffee shop?” “What would happen to him if the shop went out of business or decided to relocate?” These thoughts have been plaguing Qrow since he has been working at coffee shop full-time from 5 to 5 ever since he received his high school diploma.

Qrow struggled with anxiety and depression ever since he was little, but these thoughts certainly did not help his insomniac tendencies. He glanced over his wooden dresser as he saw the clock read 2:59AM.

“Well, looks like I’m not going to be getting any sleep again… might as well walk to the coffee shop without taking the train.” Grabbing his pair of headphones, which he found lying on the street near a dumpster, and his black “il dolce far niente” hoodie, he started to walk the dimly-lit streets of Mistral alone…

Qrow always enjoyed walking alone listening to music. Music had always help him cope with his anxiety and depression, and acted as a way for him to feel things that were buried deep into his subconscious. After walking through countless empty streets, crossing bridges, and walking up a rather steep hill, he finally reached the coffee shop. As he took of his headphones, he noticed a man with dark circular glasses holding some type of cane standing outside the shop. Looking at his watch, Qrow looks at the time to notice that it was 4:58am.

"Looks like I barely made it on time…" he thought to himself.

“Um excuse me…sir? We will be opening in just a couple of minutes.”

The man turns around slightly surprised at the sight of Qrow and then smiles softly.

“Take the time that you need young man.”

After this brief exchange, Qrow unlocks the old wooden door at the side of the store. He always was amazed at how the elderly shop-keep treated him. He was widowed, but still full of life. Despite being one who tended to keep to himself, he still trusted Qrow with many duties that other managers would balk at due to Qrow only being 18 and his lack of higher education. Qrow’s responsibilities included him opening the store, operating the cash register, brewing the coffee, baking pastries, cleaning the restaurant, taking inventory, and sometimes even calling the respective maintenance companies. Qrow was no slouch when it came to work, but the shop-keep usually had to intervene because Qrow would overwork himself a little too often. Qrow already being as pale as snow and being as thin as he had worried him. Qrow was certainly not weak, but he certainly was underweight for someone of his height and age…

As Qrow was turning on the lights, he notices a figure already laying on one of the black leather couches they recently ordered.  
“Mr. Shop-keep? What are you doing here inside already?”

The shop-keep gently opens his eyes and smiles at Qrow as he brings himself to a seated position. He then gestures Qrow to grab the notebook from the table that is behind Qrow.

Qrow quickly understood him, grabbed it and handed it to him. Shop-keep was mute and did not know sign language, but he was so easy to understand because he always had such an uncanny ability to convey what he wanted to. Before he started writing, he motioned for Qrow to unlock the front door. Qrow immediately rushes to the door, unlocks it, and holds it open for the man without a second thought.

“Um…sorry for taking so long…” Qrow apologetically blurting out as his eyes were transfixed on the floor.

“That is perfectly alright. Now, what would you recommend I try at this establishment?”

“Do you like espressos, fraps, mochas…” Qrow questioned as he made eye-contact with the slightly taller man.

“I believe my question was what do YOU recommend? As in, what is your favorite item on the menu to drink?”

“Um…. I tend to keep things…simple. I usually just have my coffee black… We do have our new Pum- “

“I’ll take two large black coffees with a chocolate chip cookie.”

“O-okay…Coming right up… That will be- “

“6 lien? Here.” The man gently said as he placed his scroll on the Cherrywood counter.

Qrow being surprised, questionably makes the transaction and hands the man his scroll.  
“P-please take a seat, it’ll be just a moment. I’ll bring it to you when it is made.”

Nodding simply, the man takes a seat at the table close to the shop-keep and broadens his smile.

Do those two know each other? Qrow thought to himself as he was assembling the order.

As Qrow brought the items to the man, he noticed that the shop-keep was motioning him to take a seat at the same table as the man.

“O-okay…”

The shop-keep hands the notebook to Qrow. Qrow quickly scans the page to read “Qrow, an old friend of mine has come here to speak to you. Please give him your attention as you would to me.” After reading this, he looks up to find the shop-keep at the cashier already assisting a group of men who were probably getting caffeinated before the morning commute.

“Mr. Branwen.”

“Uh…y-yes?”

“I find it rather- peculiar at someone your age to already have a full-time job this quickly. You seem like you just graduated high school…”

Not wanting to divulge the specifics behind his escapade away from the foster care system while he was still a minor, he decided to play it safe.

“…Well I thought that school was a waste of time, so I decided to start getting some experience as soon as I could.” This wasn’t an outright lie… Despite always getting high marks, he felt like most of the classes in high school were pretty useless.

“Oh? Then how would you explain this?” the man sarcastically questioned as he slipped a brown envelope with Qrow’s name on it. Opening the envelope, Qrow rested himself against the back of the chair as he placed a hand over his mouth.

“This…is my transcript from Mistral…. How did you get this…?”

The man then smiles and leans in closer to Qrow leaving about a foot of space in between them.

“Do you know who I am?”

“U-Uh… no I don’t…”

“The name is Ozpin… But the kids at UR call me Professor Ozpin.”

“W-wait… As in THE OZZZZPIIIIIN…?”

“If you are trying to refer to as the president of the University of Remnant, then yes you would be 100% correct young man.”

“What are you doing here in Mistral? Isn’t your school all the way in Vale?”

“Yes, but I am here to speak with you Mr. Branwen. You see, my school accepts people from all walks of life. Rich, poor, human, and Faunus alike from all the entire world apply to my school. However, there are rare instances where we get students admitted into the school through recommendations.”

“I’m not sure if I’m following…”

“Do you have any dreams? You know, career aspirations?”

“I would like to travel…but wh- “

“I’ll get straight to the point. The one you call ‘shop-keep’ and I have been friends for many, many years now. As I am sure you are aware, he is full of wisdom and enjoys the company of youth. He cares for things… More importantly, especially in this conversation, he knows where to find potential. Mr. Branwen, from my eyes, you have an excellent work-ethic, humble, and certainly academically adequate to strive for success.”

“U-uh I’m not all-that…” As Qrow looks down and places his hand on the back of his head, shop-keep makes his way over to the two and takes a seat right next to Ozpin. Shop-keep then holds Qrow a gold envelope with his name on the front. As Qrow is getting ready to open it, he notices the black circular seal with two lime green axes designed on it.

“W-w-what’s this…?”

“Just open it.” Ozpin says in a rather pleased tone.

Qrow then opens the envelope to find a letter addressed to him:

Glynda Goodwitch  
Admissions Manager/Associate Professor of Business  
University of Remnant

June 15, 2016

“Wait… this letter was sent here a month ago…” Qrow thought to himself as he continued reading:

Dear Mr. Branwen:

Congratulations! It is with immense pleasure that I inform you of your acceptance into the international business program at the University of Remnant with a full-tuition, room, and board scholarship. This opportunity comes in recognition of your academic and personal achievements, and I am positive that you would be a valued member of our university.

In anticipation of the questions that you may have, I have enclosed a student starter package, which will familiarize you with the campus and the many opportunities and facilities that it offers. Also included is a list of faculty members who will be leading the courses in your program, along with contact information of our administrative staff. If you feel that you need further information than you provided within the student starter pack, please feel free to call the admissions office, and they will do all that they can to make this transition easy for you.

To familiarize all new students with the campus and its rules, first-year students will arrive on campus early for a three-day orientation prior to the commencement of classes.

On behalf of the faculty and staff of the University of Remnant, we wish you a successful and enjoyable future.

As Qrow was entranced while reading the letter’s contents, he didn’t realize shop-keep hugging him from the back, nor the tears that began welling in his eyes.

“I don’t understand… Why…. why would you want me? You don’t know me…I’m a person broken beyond repair…There are people far bet-“

“Do you want to attend my school?”

“B-but…”  
“Mr. Branwen. Do you want to attend my school?”

As the tears stopped, he was met with the smile of the shop-keep who nodded at Qrow. Ozpin’s tone and mood then became serious.

“I’m aware of some of the details regarding one specific incident…regarding one of your previous foster guardians…But that’s not what this conversation is about. While I certainly desire you to attend my school, I cannot force you to decide. I admire your humbleness, but there is a stark difference from being humble, and not having healthy amount of confidence and self-deflection. While I might not be able to convince you otherwise, if you stay on this path, the future won’t be bright for you. Youth is forever fleeting, and with this unhealthy perception of yourself, the future may become apathetic. So, the choice is yours… I can assure you that your acceptance has no catch, but I cannot guarantee your fut- ”

“I… accept…”

“Excuse me?”

“I want to attend your school…Professor Ozpin.”

At this moment, Ozpin’s countenance reflected his excitement at his response.

“Excellent! Now if you are wondering why I admitted you into International Business, I tried to choose a major based off your highest marks and from the little details I could receive from some of your teachers at Mistral. It seems that since you have desire to travel, it seems that my assumptions were correct. All students who attend our school are housed during all four years. Orientation will be in two weeks, so I would recommend that you would prepare to move out of your apartment in preparation for our school’s housing lottery which will determine which dormitory you will live in. All the other necessary paperwork has already been taken care of. And… it is with the upmost gratitude to welcome you to the University of Remnant!”


	2. One Last Goodbye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trying to start a new life from his abusive upbringing, Qrow receives a letter of acceptance to the University of Remnant. Enrolled in the International Business program, he plans to travel the world without having the needing to call a place home. Little does he know, his life, beliefs, and feelings are about to take a turn…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The POV for this chapter will be in first person since it is Qrow in the present moment. Future chapters will be marked with each POV being marked specifically. I decided to make this chapter shorter because the orientation arc is gonna be really thiccc (read as thick with three c's)!

August 18th came by faster than I thought. I still couldn’t believe that Ozpin…THE ACTUAL FRIGGIN PROFESSOR OZPIN, took the time to find ME, the most uninteresting sad piece of angst he could possibly find, just to personally invite me to attend the most prestigious university in the world…FOR FREE BY THE WAY… This cannot be real…

So much has happened so fast. Yesterday, I ended up ending my lease early and packed my backpack with the few clothes and things I own. Thankfully the appliances came with the apartment, so I didn’t really have much to move. I spent the night under a bridge using my backpack as a bridge and my hoodie as a blanket. It wasn’t nothing really… One night is nothing compared to the numerous nights I spent in the woods, convenience schools, and alleyways…

As I got up from my temporary abode, I decided to climb onto the bridge and rest my hands on the railing... The sun slowly started to rise… and I couldn’t stop myself from smiling as the small hues of blue and purple began filling the horizon. Summer was always my favorite season of the year after all… I always have loved feeling a soft breeze gently blowing my face first thing in the morning. Sleeping never came easy for me. Morning meant that it would become easier for me to stay awake, as I never was a fan of the night ever since…-

“No!” I tell myself as I vigorously shake my head back and forth. “Let me just enjoy this moment for a little… longer…” After taking one last look at the view, I turn away to start making my way to the coffee shop for one last time before start heading towards Vale…

“Wait a sec…” I think to myself as I stop completely in the middle of the road.

“…OH. MY. GOD. HOW THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO GET TO VALE BY TOMORROW?!?!?”

My heartbeat started to race… My breathing began to start becoming shallow and without a steady rhythm. I began walking around in circles as I started to feel nauseous… and…then my vision started…to…g…

“…Ugh…I feel like I just got ran over by a train…” As I open my eyes, I reflexively squint my eyes as some…kind of lights started blinding me. My vision then started coming to me and began realizing that I was in bed and my right arm felt cold… I look to my side to see that shop-keep was sitting on a wooden chair right beside my bed…

“M-Mr. Shop-K-Keep? W-where am I? Why…am I here? What’s going-“

He interrupts my train of thought as he hugs me and then motions for one of the nurses. A small faunus lady with kitten ears then comes into the room with a gentle expression while shop-keep seems to not be coming back…?

“Mr. Branwen, I’m happy to hear you are awake and well. This man over here found you passed out by the bridge nearby. It seems that you were very chronically dehydrated. I’m going to remove your IV now, but please make sure to continue drinking liquids. Also, that man who just walked out asked me to give you this box, and tell you that he wishes to do your very best.”

After she removed the IV, I bowed in thanks, and then made my way out of the hospital. As I reached the lobby I opened the box… As I realized what’s inside, I couldn’t believe my eyes.

“I-Is this… a scroll?”

As I grabbed the scroll with my right hand, I noticed a note at the bottom of the box:

Qrow, I’m so happy that you could keep me company these years. You were always patient and hard-working, but I knew that there was something troubling you. As I am writing this, I am closing the coffee shop permanently. I didn’t want to tell you, because there was nothing that could be done, and knowing you, you thought it would be your fault. Even though this may be the end of your time being with me, I can at least give you my blessing. I never could have kids of my own, as my wife of many years was barren. Anyways, here is a scroll of the latest design along with a train ticket to the train station in central Vale ten minutes away from the university. I can tell that you have been forced to grow up and become self-reliant much faster than others… All I ask is for you to start enjoying your youth now.

Shop-keep

After I put the note, scroll, and ticket into the pocket of my hoodie, I ran to a nearby alleyway and just started to sob. The man who blessed me more than my parents ever did is now losing his shop… I immediately feel sick to my stomach. Come to think of it, I never had a real connection to anyone until him, but now I am never going to see him again. I never thought that I was going to get close to anyone… Now I won’t see him again… As I was deep in thought, I remember the note and pull it out again to read the last line:

  
“…start enjoying your youth now.”

  
“Well… I suppose trying the university life is better than no life right away…right?”

With this new outlook in mind, I make my way to the train station in Mistral. It happens to be right across the block from the hospital, so I could make it there with plenty of time to spare.

After I went up to the kiosk to insert my ticket, I immediately went into the terminal and slumped down into the nearest bench I could find.

For the next thirty minutes, I opened my new scroll fiddling with some of the functions until the train came. As everyone started to board the train, I looked back one last time…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> He's on the train to Vale yo! Now, what will orientation bring?
> 
> By the way, if you are into more fair game, feel free to check out the discord server that helped inspire this AU: https://discord.gg/wZ5fkjm


	3. Fountain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Qrow is klutz.

_“Come with me…”_

_“Who are y-you?”_

_The slender man twisted his head to the side and smiled with such psychotic abandon as he began inching closer to the young boy… As this was happening, the young boy became fearful. As he let out a frightened squeal, he got up and began running further into the pitch-black alleyway away from the man… As the boy ran, the man straightened himself and slowly followed the boy. As the boy became more and more agitated, he tripped over a large stone and fell. The boy grimaced in pain as he looked up to see the man was getting closer and closer to him… He scuffled and tried to continue running only to find that there was a dead end… As the boy jerked his head in every single direction to find a possible escape point, he soon realized that his efforts were completely in vain and that he was trapped. He turns to face the man only to see him pull out a knife…_

_“Awwwww… Well that’s a shame! Poor little one’s scared out of his wits with nowhere to run or hide! How..._

_…misfortunate”_

I nearly jumped out of my seat as I began gasping for air while pressing my hand against my heart. I tried containing my heavy breathing as I looked around and noticed that everyone was watching me…

“O-o-k…Qrow…calm down. It was another nightmare…He’s not going to hurt you again…Breathe…1…2…3… That’s it… Don’t feel…No need to cry… He’s gone… I’m safe… I’m…safe…”

As I recited this mantra and focused on my breathing, I could calm myself down. Looks like those memories still…affect me to this day…

I didn’t expect to fall asleep on the train given that I have never ridden one in my life up to this point. The train from Mistral to Vale was much more crowded than I expected. As I looked out of the window, I began to see these massive buildings that reached up to the sky…they were so…tall… much bigger than any of the markets back home. Mistral was full of nature, fresh breezes, and serenity… I then began to see the streets full of benches, water fountains and shops full of many kinds of people.

“So, this is Vale…huh.” I sigh. “This is going to definitely take some getting used to…”

As the train came to a halt, I got off my chair to find that my legs were so wobbly that I nearly fell over. Luckily, I was able use a pole to steady myself as I stretched myself so I could make the blood flow normally. I then got off the train and reflexively looked at my scroll to check the time.

“9:48am... Well that’s a first…”

That train ride was 14 hours long. I couldn’t believe that I fell asleep for so long. I never have been able to sleep more than five hours a night for as long as I could remember… Come to think of it, I don’t remember a time where my head was not throbbing- yet I felt so light and awake… Everything had been good so far…almost too good…

  
“Well…this has been nice and all... but now I should probably figure out where the hell I’m supposed to go…” I think to myself. I look around my surroundings to see people walking in every single direction. I soon find myself walking out of the train station to find this plaza with this giant water fountain. I decided to walk closer to it. I couldn’t help but stare and day dream about one of the memories I hold dear from Mistral. The fountain reminded me of one of the waterfalls back home that I used to retreat to. The water was dynamic- freely flowing though the channel. I could watch the falls crash down as they smacked against giant boulders at the bottom for hours on end.

After I became blissfully entranced in my own mind, I couldn’t help but start to feel my depression kick into full gear. During my life, whenever I had something that was good or of some kind of value to me, it would always be taken away from me… My mind then started drifting off and I started thinking about what shop-keep said in the note:

“Even though this may be the end of your time being with me…”

“…This… was a mistake…” I thought to myself as I started to brood. I couldn’t stop my mind from racing.

“What did he mean that this was the end of his time? Was he going to die soon, and he didn’t want me to know? Will I ever see him again?”

My mind then paused as I made a revelation that made my countenance fall faster than the waterfall from back home.

  
“Wait… what if…he doesn’t WANT to see me again…”

“…”

“… That’s why he wanted me to come here… that’s why he left the hospital before I could read his note… that’s wh- “

“Excuse me?”

My heart felt like it came out of my chest as I jerked my head up as I was met with this pair of vibrant teal eyes staring at me. After briefly seeing them, my world began to spin as I lost my balance and fell backwards right into the waterfall.

“Oh, my goodness! I didn’t mean to startle you!”

It took me about seven seconds of me sitting under the waterfall to realize where I was, and how wet I got… I reflexively rub the back of my head as I looked up at the stranger. He looked like he was around my age. He had light brown hair that was neatly put into a quiff and was slightly tan. He was wearing dark green hoodie and dark wash jeans that gently hugged his…musculature…?

“Um…are you okay?” He questioned me as slightly tilted his head and shifted his right hand onto his hip.

“U-uh y-yeah…sure.” I shrugged as his comment removed me from my thoughts. I then got out of the fountain. Luckily my backpack didn’t fall in. My body chilled slightly as I felt a breeze brush against my soaked clothes. I then reached into my pocket to see that my scroll still was working perfectly fine.

“I thought these weren’t waterproof…?”

As I started to put my scroll back into my pocket, I felt something warm envelop my shoulders. The man apparently put his larger hoodie over me while he already had retrieved my backpack. I internally gasp as I removed it from my shoulders.

“Oh, you don’t have to- “I say as I try to hand it back to him.

“No, please wear it.”

“Nah, it’s fine.”

“I’m not going to let you catch a cold.” He told me as he gently showcased his pearly whites.

As I was imagining throwing it at him and running the opposite way, my eyes went glanced over to notice that he was wearing a charcoal grey sleeves top that exposed his nicely sculpted, beefy arms. I couldn’t help but feel super self-conscious. Super nice, tall and athletic…If one could dream…

“O-ok…” I managed to mutter after feeling thoroughly embarrassed, self-conscious, and a little hot…?

“Can we start over? You know, before I scared you?”

“I-I wasn’t scared” I lied through my teeth.

“Okay, well my name is-“

The soft chime of a soft guitar coming from the man’s scroll interrupted his train of thought.

“Sorry I need to take this… Hello? Yes…, Yes, I arrived in Vale… Oh my goodness! I am on my way!”

I just watched in confusion wonder what the man was talking about when he hangs up, runs to me and places both of his hands on-top of my shoulders firmly.

“Y-You can keep the hoodie! I’m going to be late!”

Before I could get a word out, he began running behind me like as if the man left the stove on or something.

“Wait! What’s…. your name?” I shouted with as much force as my slim build will let me project. I soon was disappointed because he did not hear me and soon was gone.

“Damn it…” I think to myself.

I then started to feel my scroll vibrating as well. As I looked at the screen, I noticed that there was an unknown number.

“…Hello?”

“Qrow, where are you?” The mysterious voice questioned.

“I don’t know who you are… Who is this, and how did you get this number?”

“This is professor Ozpin. I got the number from shop-keep before you received your scroll. Anyways, are you in Vale?”

“Yeah…It was quite a ride…Vale is certainly different from anything I’ve ever seen or experienced.”

“Well, you are going to be feeling like that for a while. There are many different people you are going to meet from many different walks of life you know? Oh, and before I hang up…I sent you the location to the school onto your scroll….Oh, and orientation starts in 10 minutes, so you better get a move on!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Qrow looks at the location of the school and realizes that mystery man was running in that direction...Huh.
> 
> By the way, if you are into more fair game, feel free to check out the discord server that helped inspire this AU: https://discord.gg/wZ5fkjm


	4. Housing Lottery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took me so long to update! I was mapping out the various arcs and many of the details I needed to continue this fic for the long haul... I was also really busy with college and stuff, but alas. Here is the longest chapter yet!

“10 minutes…shit!” Qrow anxiously thought to himself as he began to calculate that- by every degree…he was fucked. As he fumbled with his scroll, tapping away at random applications with mad abandon, he finally could find the map service which was powered by Schnoogle.  
  
“Okay…so where the hell am I going…?” He pondered as he began to figure out how to shrink the map down so he could see where he was going. As he finally figured out the direction based off the map’s compass function, he looked up from his phone to only realize that it was the same direction where that mystery man was hurrying off to.  
  
“Wait…that’s the same direction the guy was running towards…huh…weird.” He realized as he started sprinting towards the direction of the school.  
  
Despite looking like he was border-line anorexic, Qrow was certainly the athletic type. In high school, he was often compared to a bird because while he barely ate, he still had considerable strength for his size, and certainly could get by in his gym class without too much effort. Come to think of it, he always wondered why he was naturally so strong as he often skipped meals over the course of the past fourteen years… After finding the proper breathing tempo, Qrow began to be able to take in all the sights of the city. It was full of shops, clubs, and restaurants. Central Vale certainly had everything from the latest fashion, pop-culture icons, as well as the giant Vytal Music Festival.  
  
Qrow reflexively stopped himself as he took in the sight before him. The University of Remnant’s entrance was simply entrancing to all who had the privilege to walk through its gates. The glistening silver gate was decorated with the same emblem the seal had on his acceptance letter with the slogan “training today’s leaders for a better tomorrow”. Qrow gripped his right hand to his chest as he took gulped and the took a deep breath.  
  
“…Okay…here goes nothing…” He muttered in his mind as he mustered the courage to take the first couple of steps through the school’s gates. Shortly after walking past the courtyard decorated with rose blossoms, cherry blossoms, and statues of the school’s founders, he was met by an astute middle-aged blond woman wearing a white dress shirt that exposed a little…too much cleavage, and a black pencil skirt that hugged the woman’s natural curves.  
  
“Excuse me, but are you a Mr. Qrow Branwen by any chance?” the lady questioned as she reflexively pushed up the bridge of her glasses.  
  
“U-uh, yeah that would be me…” he managed to let out has he internally was screaming to himself “why the hell am I so damn socially awkward?!?!?!?”.  
  
“My name is Glynda Goodwitch. I am from the admissions office, so I am aware of the circumstances of your admittance as I personally was in charge of mailing your acceptance letter. Please come with me quickly. The first, and arguably the most important part of the orientation process is about to begin.” She stated firmly as she stiffly turned her back to Qrow and began walking rather rapidly.  
  
“W-Wait… Hold on a second…” Qrow let out as he jogged slightly in-order to match the woman’s pace. “What’s going to happen?”  
  
“Unlike the other students, you were not made aware of many of our university’s unique and state-of-the-art modernized approaches to education. All you need to be aware of for now is that you will first be matched with one of the four major housing districts: South Campus, North Campus, West Campus, and East Campus.”  
  
“So, I don’t get to choose where I stay or who my roommates will be?” Qrow said as he sighed in nervousness as he stared into the open doors of the huge auditorium.  
  
Stopping in their tracks, Glynda grabbed Qrow’s shoulder and turned him around to face her.  
“Qrow, you will be fine…” She reassured him as she gave him a gentle smile. “Besides, strangers are friends we just haven’t met yet.”  
  
The auditorium was massive. There were rows and rows of red arena-style seats that even had cup-holders on them. The auditorium was only about a quarter of the way full since none of the current students were back from the break yet. There was a huge screen in the background that featured a countdown clock that showed that the orientation as going to begin within the next minute and 26 seconds… Looking around in both directions, as he was racing down flights of stairs in order to get to the lower-half of the auditorium where everyone was seated at, he soon realized that everyone had an assigned seat and he had no clue where the fuck he was supposed to sit at.  
  
“HEEEEEEEYYYY! You over there! Are you Qrow by any chance?” A girl with platinum-colored hair shouted.  
  
As multiple people turned around, Qrow nodded embarrassingly as he already was being singled out.  
  
“YOUR SEAT IS NEXT TO MINE SO HURRY UP CAUSE WE’RE GONNA START BRO!” She projected as she was waving her arms like trying to guide an airplane into the runway.  
  
Qrow then made his way into his seat making multiple people stand up to scoot past them down to the middle of the aisle. He sighed as he took his seat. Qrow could already feel the sweat that was forming in his underarms.  
  
“T-thanks for doing that…” Qrow finally said after a moment of considerable silence.  
  
“Yessir! It’s not a big deal! By the way, the name’s Maddy” She said as she extended her hand to shake Qrow’s.  
  
After looking at it for a moment too long, Qrow finally placed his hand on top of her’s and shook it without much force. Maddy’s grip, however was firm and it felt like she nearly broke his wrist.  
  
  
“Heyo no need to be so nervous already!” Maddy mentioned sympathetically.  
  
“I-I’m not nervous…” Qrow mildly argued as he put his face into a pout.  
  
“Bro… Your hand’s sweaty AF man and the AC is blowing Elsa out here.” She pointed out as she smirked.  
  
‘D-Damn it…”  
  
“Hey…Don’t be so damn tense… You know I went to therapy for a while so I could give you a tip or two-” She whispered as she soon was cut-off by the ringing noise of a microphone pointed wrongly at one of the sound monitors.  


  
“Hel-Hell-Hello…? Is this thing on? Ah! Much better!” Professor Ozpin expressed as he was struggling with the microphone for about a whole two minutes.  
  
“Thank you everyone for arriving here promptly. It is nice to see that this year we have a group of conscientious-enough students that you would decide to be present… Unlike previous years… No matter! Right now, we will be commencing with the first tradition that every new student of this university goes through…the housing lottery! After I press this button, each of you will be randomly assigned to a housing district, housing unit, and learning team. You will also have a learning partner as well. These assignments are permanent for all four years of your stay here at this University. I know that all of you have been waiting for months to find out what is going to happen. While there are some criteria in these assignments that will not be disclosed, I will make known that this is to make you shine as individuals and to embrace differences in points of view, upbringings, and other aspects of life that you will face when you enter the professional world. After you find out what housing district and housing unit number you are placed into, please make your way to the signs that direct you to the respective section and number so you can meet your roommates and housemates. Please note that each bedroom within each three-bedroom complex holds four people, and that each group of four represents a respective learning team for the rest of your time here. You will also see who you will be partnered with as well. The significance of learning teams and partners will be further explained during your First-Year Success course. Now, without further ado…I bid you all welcome”  
  
As Ozpin pressed the button, the screen then changed to a giant question mark that instructed everyone to go to the kiosks at the stage.  
  
Qrow’s heart was pounding as he waited for around 25 minutes in the line full of eager young adults awaiting their fates. At last it was his turn in line…  
“Okay…Deep breath…” Qrow thought to himself as he looked at the screen that said, “Student Info: View Update”.  
  
“Earth-to the nervous AF goth birb…” Maddy joked as she poked the back of his neck. “Hurry up! I wanna see who I end up with!”  
  
  
“Okay OKAAAAYYY…” Qrow mumbled as his finger tapped the screen:  
  
  
Student: Qrow Branwen  
Student ID: xxxxxxx5469  
Graduating Class: 2020  
Major: BUS: INT  
  
Housing District: North Campus  
Housing Unit: 400  
Bedroom: C  
Roommates:  
\- Clover Ebi  
\- Taiyang Xiao Long  
\- Luke Cross  
Apartment Housemates:  
\- Mira Violet  
\- Maddy Savage  
\- Weiss Schnee  
\- Ruby Rose  
\- Neon Katt  
\- Blake Belladonna  
\- Penny Polendina  
\- Yang Xiao Long  
Learning Partner: Clover Ebi  
  
  
  
  
“So these are the people I’m going to be with huh… Hold up…” Qrow thought to himself.  
  
“Maddy…what’s your last name?” Qrow questioned as he looked back to meet her question gaze.  
  
“It’s Savage…why?” She responded as she tilted her head to see past Qrow’s figure. As she looked at the screen her face lit up as she grabbed Qrow’s sleeve. “Yo! No FRIGGIN WAYYY- Looks like I end up with Mr. Birb all four years! Come on! Let’s go meet everyone else!” She proclaimed as she literally dragged him a solid hundred feet.  
  
“I CAN walk you know…” Qrow huffed in annoyance as he gently took her hand off his sleeve.  
  
“I just had to make sure, because earlier you looked like you were going to pass out from all of this.” Maddy protested.  
  
As they navigated through the signs that led them into a room that said North Campus, they then made their way to a welcome desk made up of two white foldable tables with a university-themed dark-green throw blanket on top.  
  
“Hello! How are you all doing today? My name is Velvet and I will be directing you to where you will meet your housemates. If you could please provide me with your name and student ID on this slip, I can get you checked in and then point you to where you need to go” the Faunus with rabbit ears enthusiastically announced.  
  
After they filled out the forms, Velvet led them down a hallway to a door half-way opened with a piece of paper taped onto the front of it that read “400”. As they both entered the room, he saw that the other ten housemates were already there. As Qrow was scanning the room he internally gasped as he saw the mystery man from earlier…  
  
“You have GOT to be fucking kidding me…”

“…Well don’t just stand in the doorway! Come on! Let’s just go meet everyone!” Maddy exclaimed as she playfully shoved Qrow through the doorway.

Things did not go as she planned because instead of Qrow regaining his balance, he totally got yeeted face-first into the marble floor. 

“Okay…I knew that you were light…but I had no idea you were THAT light” Maddy murmured to herself as she realized what she just did.

“Oh, my goodness! Are you okay?” The mystery man said as he went over to help the frail man up.

“…Ugh…Yeah…Yeah…mmm..fine…” Qrow spouted as he lifted his face off the ground only to make direct eye-contact from two nose distances with the man.

“Oh my God… you ARE the guy from the fountain!” The other man shouted in excitement as he grabbed the other man’s hands. “Oh…Sorry… I just got a little too excited there.” The bigger man apologized as he quickly removed his hands from Qrow’s.

“It’s fine…” Qrow said as he put on hand on the back of neck.

Standing behind the two, Maddy smirked to herself as she saw the brief exchange. 

“Do you two…know each other?” Maddy interrogated as both men swiveled their heads towards her direction.

“I…Uh…We…mm” Qrow mumbled.

“Yes, we do.” Clover interjected. “Met him on the way to school...come to think of it…I never did get your name…”

“Oh…It’s Qrow…. Qrow Branwen” Qrow said as his eyes contacted his hands.

As he said this, Clover’s demeanor went from being nonchalant to being a visual representation of how Miriam Webster defines as pure glee. “Well looks like everything does happen for a reason, huh…Lucky me.” Clover said as he helped Qrow up from the ground.

“I’m sorry I don’t follow…” Qrow said with a lost expression.

“Let me put it to you this way Qrow, we are going to be partners for the next four years.” Clover said as he put his hand over Qrow’s right shoulder, bringing him into a side hug.

“S-so you’re…”

“Yup. The name is Clover Ebi. Looks like we are going to get to know each other real well.” Clover said as he slowly removed his hand off his shoulder. “Alright well it looks like everyone is here!” He said in a commanding voice so that he could get everyone’s attention. “Before we head over to the unit to move in all our stuff, we should probably introduce ourselves.”

“OOOOOOOOH YESSSSS! ME FIRST ME FIRST ME FIRST!!!” A girl with rainbow-colored hair screeched- making everyone covering their ears. “OH MY GAWD, WAS I TOO LOUD? UWU! SOWWY!!!”

“Oh god, she’s gonna be annoying. Why did the universe give me a housemate that obviously got dropped on her head as a child” said a girl with white hair wearing a royal blue blouse and white skinny jeans…and…Gucci flip flops…as she rolled her eyes.

“Did you say something?” Inquired the rainbow-haired girl.

“Oh…nothing…. nothing at all!” Replied the other with fake-ass enthusiasm.

“OOOH KK FRAAAAND! So like, I’m Neon Katt, not spelled like Neon Cat, even though like I absolutely love that meme… Oh I brought a poster of it too! It’s sooo cuuuute! Oh um, where was I? OH YAA! So like I’m totes majoring in Visual Art and I’m gonna be on the track team! When I have my coffee, I’m Like soooooooo fast and stuff! Oh and I really love taking them selfies cause duh! Gram life! #PhotoOfTheDay #OOTD! And I’m excited to like PARTY because college is all about having FUN and meeting new FRAAANDS and…”

“Thank you…for…that” the girl with the blue blouse interrupted. “I’ll go next then. My name is Weiss Schnee from the Schnee family. As you know, the Schnee family is one of the top providers in scroll technology, search engines, and obviously is the ones who developed applications like Schnoogle Maps. I am double majoring in English and Music. I hope to travel abroad as a songwriter and performer in the future. Therefore, I enrolled at this school, because this school has the most elite program than all the other schools in the world. I will be joining the university choir so I can continue to better my technique and craft. I am looking forward to getting a world-class education so I can become a better contributor to society.” She then curtsied after she finished. “Who’s next?”

“I’ll go!” Maddy happily exclaimed. “My name is Maddy Savage, and I am majoring in Elementary Education with a focus on History. History always interested me-so yeah. I am a plant mom-“

“Aye!!! Plant Lovers in the house!” A blond man wearing a tie dye t-shirt with a backwards cap with slight stubble interjected. Clover then held out a piece sign in acknowledgement.

“He’s into plants? Huh…” Qrow thought to himself.

“Yessir!” Maddy answered while flashing a big thumbs-up. “So anyways, I absolutely love plants and I actually brought one of mine with me. When we move in, I’ll show you, but her name is Photosynthesis. I wish I could have brought like my other 25 plants from back home, but university fucking policy… Looks like I’m going to have to sneak more in from the shops in the city…” “If any of you need any kind of advice, I went to a therapist a lot as a kid, so I may know some things…” She continued as she looked in Qrow’s direction, making him face palm. “I’m looking forward to getting to know y’all better, and meeting new people!  
“Now… since I went, I’m going to spice things up a bit and make it so that after you finish introducing yourself, you get to choose who introduces themselves next! So I want…Qrow to introduce himself!” Maddy proposed as she pointed directly at Qrow’s face.

“What the actual fuck… I knew that things were going to be different but damn she might as well constantly put a friggin spotlight on my face with big neon letters that says “Hey I’m Socially Awkward… Make Me Uncomfortable So I Make Myself Look Like An Ass!” Qrow thought to himself as he started to hyperventilate. “Okay…deep breath…you can do this” Qrow coached in his mind as he breathed through his nose for two seconds and out his mouth.  
“Well…um…my name is Qrow Branwen. I’m majoring in International Business. Uh…I used to work at a coffee shop as a barista before I came here…”

“YES, MY CAFFIENE NEEDS WILL BE MET!” Neon exclaimed.

“I don’t really do coffee. I prefer energy drinks, but if I’m all out, hey I’m fair-game” a girl with medium-length black hair commented. She was wearing a grey crop-top, a black mini skirt with a brown belt, and red stockings that went up to her mid-thigh.

“W-well…I-it’s not a big deal… I don’t wanna disappoint…” Qrow replied shyly from all the attention.

“Please go on.” Clover said with enthusiasm.

“Ah yeah…well I like listening to music, and seeing what Vale has to offer. I grew up in Mistral, so this place is pretty overwhelming to take in at once, but I want to travel someday to see more of the world…So I guess…I’m looking forward to new experiences.” Qrow explained. “Um, I guess you can go next Clover?” He questioned as he looked at the man.

“Yeah alright! My name is Clover Ebi. I’m also majoring in International Business but with a focus in Management rather than general business. I also brought a plant, and I really am passionate about fishing. When I retire, that is all I want to do. I dream of having a nice log cabin while fishing from dawn till dusk. I will be joining the Baseball team and I am also looking forward to exploring Vale and meeting new people.” Clover said with his iconic grin as he secretly winked to Qrow which made the other man blush slightly. “Hmmm…How about the girl talking about energy drinks goes next?” Clover said as he pointed to her.

“Well, okay. My name is Mira Violet. I am also majoring in Visual Art. I NEED my caffeine so I live off energy drinks. I’m really excited about the art classes here! I’m really into drawing and animation, so that’s what drew me to here. I’m looking forward to the student discounts in Vale, so I’m hoping I can get some new art supplies and shit… I’m also big gae, so having a girlfriend would not be bad either…” Mira stated as she began to fiddle with her fingers.

“WAIT! LIKE IM TOTES LESBIAN TOO!” Neon screeched. “WE ARE SO GONNA TALK LOTS LATER!”

“Okay let’s try to get through these introductions faster cause my feet are starting to hurt from standing!” Weiss complained.

“Alright I’m done waiting! It’s my turn!” a girl with fiery blond hair projected. “The name’s Yang. Yang Xiao Long. I’m also a lesbian and I am majoring in Mechanical Engineering. I’m looking forward to joining the boxing club so I can beat the shit out of anyone who tries to mess with me, and I love riding my motorcycle. Her name is Bumblebee! I’ll show y’all her later. I’m looking forward to checking out the nightlife here in town and cruising around the city.”

“Well since my sister went, I’ll go!” Said the blond plant-loving guy from earlier. “I’m Taiyang. Taiyang Xiao Long. You could say that I’m TAI’d to my sister. Wherever she goes, I go!” He punned, as many face-palms echoed through the room. 

“Okay….” Yang sighed with a dead-panned expression. “Can you knot?” She punned back as she laughed and punched his arm playfully.

“Seriously? Can you just-” Weiss said as she double-face palmed her cheeks.

“So, I’m majoring in Elementary Education with a focus in History like Maddy. I really like kids, so I knew it was something I always wanted to do.”

“AWWWWWWWWW” all the girls, in unison, sounded in approval.

“I am looking forward to meeting some babes and skating across Vale.” Taiyang concluded. “I would like the ginger to go next!”

“SAAAAAALLLLLLLUUUUUUUTAAAAATIIIIOOOOOOONSSSS!!!!” The pasty-freckled girl shouted. She was wearing a long green skirt with a plink floral blouse and a white sun hat that a pink ribbon decorated with little green frogs on it. “My name’s Penny! I am from Atlas and my father is a teacher here! He’s in the Engineering department, so that’s why I’m studying it too. I love him so much, and I want to work together with him someday because of everything he has sacrificed for me. I am joining the water polo team, and I hope to become friends with everyone!” Penny then did a cartwheel and smiled brighter than the sun. 

“Alright, I guess it’s my turn! My name is Ruby Rose. I’m majoring in communications because I want to become a motivational speaker so I can help change the world. I really LOVE cookies…especially chocolate chip cookies…. Oh, and I may have ordered a box with 60 2-pack double chocolate chip cookies from my scroll as soon as I knew what housing unit I was assigned to…”

“How much lien did you spend on that?” Weiss interrogated.

“I…uh…like 22?” Ruby responded.

“Oh, my god you…dolt! Don’t you know that we get allotted 30 lien a week for food.” Weiss ranted.

“Well…. looks like it’s ramen packets for me then…?” Ruby shrugged.

“Well… I’ll lend you some of my bread and tuna fish…” a girl with a black bow said.

“OMIGOD thank you!” Ruby exclaimed with glee.

“Don’t…mention it...” the girl responded timidly.

“So where was I… Oh yeah…I’m also going to be a part of the track team. I can’t wait to show you what I’m made of on the track! I cannot wait to meet everyone and try all kinds of different foods!” Ruby finished. “Why don’t you go next since you already brought up the tuna fish?” Ruby proposed as she directed herself to the girl with the black bow.

“Um…Ok. My name’s Blake. Blake Belladonna. I’m majoring in English because I like to read books. I hear that the library here is got a wide selection, and has special quiet areas meant for deep reading- so you will probably find me there most of the time. I’m looking forward to joining the Pick N’ Pen writing society on campus because I also write… I’m not sure what else to say…”

“Well, what do you like to write?” Yang questioned as she made her way towards Blake and put both of her hands behind her head.

“Um…that’s kind of personal sorry…But I want to write to create awareness regarding the inequality of the faunus.” Blake explained.

“Well…that’s a shame. But hey, let me know when you’ve written something.” Yang added.

“Alright…I will… thanks…” Blake responded as a faint blush appeared on her face.

“Okay well I think that’s everyone... We should make our way…” Weiss said as she started to head towards the door.

“Wait a second.” Clover interrupted.

“What is it now?” Weiss pouted.

“He hasn’t gone yet” Clover stated as he pointed towards a guy wearing glasses who was like Qrow in build but lightly shorter. He had similar dark hair, but was wearing black ripped jeans and a plan grey t-shirt with a cross necklace with a black pendant attached to it. The dude looked up and looked across the room to find that everyone was staring right at him.

“Uh…my name is…Luke Cross… I’m majoring in International Business with a concentration in Cybersecurity… I don’t really have something interesting to say, but I promise I will be a good housemate.” He managed to say as he put both of his hands in his pockets.

“Short and sweet. I like that.” Weiss smirked

“Huh that guy’s even more awkward than me…Never thought I’d see the day…” Qrow thought to himself.

“Alright, now let’s make our way to our housing unit!” Weiss shouted as she motioned everyone outside of the door.

“Everyone’s so much different from me…well almost everyone… Looks like this is going to get interesting…” Qrow thought to himself as he walked out the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Am I sensing possible tea...and group chats....? MMMMMMM


	5. Moving In Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So much is going on, that I had to break this part up into two parts! Qrow deserves nice things.

The walk to the North Campus was simply breathtaking. The group walked past many different hallmarks of the school. UR’s campus certainly was not flat in any kind of way. They walked up numerous white stairs that featured sectioned hills of grass where people could lay back on to stargaze or study outside in the cool fall breeze. Lampposts filled the campus on the sides of the various boardwalks and bridges. As they were walking, Neon would occasionally stop and snap a picture with her scroll for her social media followers- to Weiss’s disdain. The Xiao Long siblings were cracking puns in the back of the group while Luke was looking to his right side while being deep in thought. Blake was reading something on her scroll while Penny was just fascinated by everything, and was talking to Ruby and Mira about the possibility of making cookies out of energy drinks. Weiss and Clover were at the front of the group of course, while Qrow was directly behind them with Maddy by his side.  
  
“So, what do you think of all this so far?” Maddy inquired.  
  
“It’s…. different alright… I’m still trying to take everything in…” Qrow replied.  
  
“Yeah, it certainly can be a lot to process, but some of the best things in life come from being forced out of your comfort zone.” Clover remarked as he tilted his head back to acknowledge Qrow.  
  
“Oh? What on earth made you feel uncomfortable?” Qrow questioned sarcastically.  
  
“Uh, well…it’s kind of embarrassing…” Clover responded.  
  
“Well, I can tell you one thing that’s making me uncomfortable, and that’s these god damn flip flops!” Weiss chimed in. “I sure as hell didn’t expect to be walking a mile and a half in these…”  
  
“You should probably loosen up a bit and try to wear something more comfortable.” Mira proposed. “We’re in college now. We are already going to be staying up super late without much sleep and are going to have massive piles of homework and busy schedules. You can look decent but not feel so rigid all the time.”  
  
“Yeah like live a little! You can’t keep that pole that far up your ass forever Ms. Louis Vuitton!” Neon remarked.  
  
“Ugh, well sorry that some people like to have a little more class in the manner they choose to represent themselves.” Weiss contested.  
  
“Someone struck a nerve…” Taiyang commented.  
  
“Oh, get bent.” Weiss shot back as she rolled her eyes in disgust.  
  
“OHMYGODTHEREITIS!” Ruby and Penny squealed in unison as they both held onto each other’s sides while pointing at the North Campus gate. The group then stopped to marvel at what was beyond the gates. Rows and rows of large modern-style houses filled the horizon.  
  
“WOOOOOW THEY LOOK SO AMAZING!” Penny shouted.  
  
“This was not…how I pictured them to be.” Qrow remarked as he stood still in shock.  
  
“Yeah you can say that again… How am I supposed to fit my luggage into this dinky space?” Weiss scoffed.  
  
“Uh…t-that’s n-not what I-” Qrow stuttered.  
  
“What are you all standing around for? Let’s find out which one is ours!” Maddy chirped.  
  
“Yeah…I kind of want to unpack and have a drink, because I’m already feeling sleepy…” Mira added.  
  
“Um, I know it’s not my place to judge…but It’s only 2:30 in the afternoon… isn’t it a little early to be having so much caffeine?” Blake questioned.  
  
“I NEED CAFFIENE TO LIVE!” Mira contested. “Sorry- I just feel so tired if I go too long without some form of energy drink.”  
  
“…Um… I don’t think that’s very healthy…” Luke chimed in as he looked at the ground.  
  
“Oh? So, you do actually talk!” Maddy proclaimed as she slapped the back of Luke’s head.  
  
“Y-Yeah…I guess so….” Luke replied.  
  
“Well, to me it seems that you have some kind of social anxiety. I’m here for you if you need to talk to me about anything, and I can give you some pointers on how to reduce your anxiety.” Maddy informed Luke as she gave him a sympathetic smile.  
  
“Ugh he just needs to man-up and stop being such a little scared bitch!” Weiss ranted. “I’m surrounded by people who are either way too fucking stupid, depressed, or…Clover.”  
  
“Okay…That’s enough, Weiss.” Ruby commanded.  
  
“Oh, and who made it so you can tell me what to do. From as far as I could remember, you were the dumb bitch who decided to spend almost all of her food money on a cookie addiction before the first actual day of school.” Weiss fired back as she shot Ruby an annoyed look.  
  
“Look, I am going to assume that you had a rough time traveling here.” Ruby continued not fazed by Weiss’s previous comment. “But you barely even know us, or have even gotten the chance to know any of us beyond a couple two minute introductions. You ca- “  
  
“Okay FINE.” Weiss interrupted. “Let’s just get to our house already.”  
  
“Well she’s going to be difficult to deal with…” Qrow thought to himself.  
  
Finding the right house was the enigmatic feat of the century. At first, Clover thought that the houses would be ordered based off the number. They were severely mistaken when they found house #246 only to find that #341 was next to that one, and then #142 was next to that. After walking through every single row, they started to lose hope until they saw one more house that was at the top of the steep hill. As they climbed up the hill, they found the house with the big green letters that read #400.  
  
“Ughhhh finally!” Weiss said as she was breathing heavily.  
  
“We were walking around for hourrrrrsssssssss…” Ruby complained.  
  
“Um, it’s only 2:56…” Clover stated without a drip of sweat on him.  
  
“How- are you…not…huff…uhuff… panting…like…the rest…of us…?” Mira questioned.  
  
“Uh…I feel perfectly fine…?” Qrow responded.  
  
“No one…asked…for your sass.” Mira shot back.  
  
“Okaaaay. How about let’s get out of this heat and get into some nice AC?” Taiyang proposed as he was giddy from the curiosity that was growing inside him each passing second.  
  
Everyone agreed right away and entered inside the house. The house was immaculate and the common area was fully furnished with tables, a mini bar, a pool table, a set of white couches, and what appeared to be a 50-inch flat screen TV.  
  
“Wow this house looks… AMAZINGGG!” Neon purred in utter delight.  
  
“It looks like the inside of one of those home reality TV shows I used to watch as a kid.” Yang commented.  
  
Clover then walked over to Qrow and pulled him into a side hug. “It sure looks amazing doesn’t it?”  
  
“Yeah… honestly, this room is bigger than the size of three of my old apartments combined.” Qrow said as he was still in the middle of processing everything.

“Well hey, don’t let that get you down.” Clover reassured him. “That just means that you will appreciate things more than other people.” He continued as he looked at Weiss who appeared to be rubbing her fingers against the counter of the mini-bar to check for specs of dust.  
  
“Uh…It’s no big-“  
  
“Hey guys!” Weiss snapped.  
  
“What’s up Ice Queen?” Maddy smirked.  
  
“Ugh…I don’t have time for your dumbass remarks.” Weiss contested as she clenched her fists. “Where is all of our stuff?”  
  
“Oh yeah…come to think of it…where’s all the boxes?” Penny inquired.  
  
“Well we did have to get our stuff shipped here, so it probably won’t arrive until tomorrow…” Blake reasoned.  
  
“Ugh this is terrible! What am I supposed to sleep in? What about my oral hygiene?” Weiss ranted.  
  
“Crap! I’m going to need to find another source of caffeine or I’m going to go insane!” Mira realized as her hands began to tremble faster than a jackhammer digging to the center of the earth.  
  
“And here I was going to introduce some of you to some 420…” Maddy commented.  
  
“What’s 420?” Penny questioned.  
  
“Yeah I was wondering the same…” Ruby agreed.  
  
“Oh…you will know soon enough…” Maddy smirked as she put her arms around both.  
  
“Ugh that’s a trademark of lesser-class trash.” Weiss stated as she crossed her arms and stuck up her head.  
  
“Hey-Mind you, my family is in the Middle-class, and the amount of money your family makes has nothing to do with what type of person you will become thank you.” Maddy remarked.  
  
“Figure A…” Blake giggled.  
  
“Do you have something to say?” Weiss demanded in annoyance.  
  
“I-“

“…Uh guys?” Luke timidly let out as he poked his head outside of a door with a nameplate that had a big white “C” on it. “…Our stuffs already inside our rooms…at least mine is.”  
  
“Really? Oh, thank GOD.” Weiss sighed in relief. “Well, I’m going to head into my quarters to unpack.” She announced as she started making her way towards the room with the “B” on it.  
  
“I can’t believe we are going to be rooming, let-alone studying with that for four years!” Maddy said after she let out a deep breath. “Just because I can give life advice to people doesn’t mean I can tolerate that level of shit for such a long period of time.”  
  
“Yeah…I hope she doesn’t give me headaches…” Mira deadpanned with a disheveled appearance.  
  
“I-I…Don’t envy you guys one bit…” Luke commented sympathetically.  
  
“Well, at least we don’t have to deal with the guy who probably wears tie-dyed everything and who makes puns 60 seconds a minute, 60 minutes an hour, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks…” Yang smirked mischievously.  
  
“Excuse me!” Taiyang contested. “I would let you know that I only brought 6 of my tie-dyed shirts with me. Yo my bro, Luke! Come on man! Let’s get unpacking already! The man-cave is going to be PUMPING!” He said as he was flagging Luke down.  
  
“You better get going…bro…” Maddy commented as she leaned against Yang with a matched facial expression.  
  
“…Grab a knife…stab me…leave me there…” Luke croaked as he slowly dragged himself toward the energetic blond.  
  
Qrow watched as everyone else started going into their rooms lively with chatter and excitement over their new place.  
  
“We should probably head over too huh?” Clover said as he motioned Qrow towards their room.

“O-oh, yeah, let’s go…” Qrow stuttered as he followed him towards his abode for the next four years…

\-----QROW POV-----

When I walked into the room, I couldn’t believe what I saw. There were two sets of full-sized bunk beds and there were four cherry wood desks with shelves that were neatly plastered above each of them. As I walked to the right corner of the room, I opened one of the cherry wood wooden wardrobes. It was so spacious. There were so many drawers and spaces for stuff, I couldn’t believe it. A month ago, I did have a bed, but my night stand was made from cardboard, and I wouldn’t have dreamed that I would be using furniture this big… Then again, I only have what’s in my backpack right now, so at least it will be easy to keep my part of the room clean…

“Alright! Let’s divvy out all the boxes so we can figure out who’s it who’s so we can get this room unpacked in record time!” Clover announced with both of his hands on his hips. “Before we start, we should figure out who is going to get the top and bottom bunks!”

“I call top!” Taiyang shouted rapidly.

“Okay…what about you guys? Do you have any preferences?” Clover questioned in consideration.

“…I don’t really care.” Luke mumbled as he shrugged his shoulders. “I can sleep below Tai if you guys don’t mind?”

“Not at all!” Clover responded. “I’m happy to see that you are speaking more.”

“…I just want to be a good roommate is all…” Luke said as he looked away walking inside of the bathroom, closing the door.

“What about you?” Clover questioned as he averted his attention to me.

“Um, I don’t really care either Clover.” I responded. “A bed’s a bed to me, so it doesn’t really make a difference.”

“Well lucky me, because if that’s the case, I’ll go top and you’ll be on the bottom. I’ve always wanted to be on top when I was younger, but my older brother would never let me.” Clover explained. “Sounds good to you?”

“Yeah, works for me.” I replied.

I just watched as Clover started picking up each box and setting it aside into each respective pile. After he was done, he realized that there were only two actual “piles” and one other box set to the side.

“Uh Taiyang?” Clover questioned as he looked at Taiyang with furrowed brows.  
“Oh, you can call me Tai.” Taiyang responded cheerfully.

“Oh, ok. Tai, would you like to explain why 10 of the 17 boxes here are from you?” Clover interrogated playfully.

“Well I had to bring in a killer wardrobe for the ladies- man! I also got my skateboard, some plant feed, my gaming PC, and all the other trimmings if you feel me? I can’t help that I was TAI’D to some things that I just couldn’t leave behind!” Tai recounted.

“Okay, I don’t mean this in a judging kind of way, but you seriously need to work on your jokes, because…that was awful.” Clover stated seriously as he leaned back against the desk he claimed as his own.

“Also, Qrow I didn’t see any boxes with your name on them…” Clover said with a concerned tone.

“Wait what?” Taiyang chimed in. “I hope the moving service didn’t screw up and put your stuff inside another house… It’s already 4pm though, so I think the main offices are closed already…”

“I-“

“Don’t worry, Qrow.” Clover interrupted me as he placed his hand on my shoulder. “I can check with the Office of Student Affairs in the morning after breakfast tomorrow morning.”

“…Uh thanks… but that won’t be necessary” I replied.

Both exchanged glances and then faced me again.

“What do you mean?” Clover questioned further.  
“Yeah, don’t you care about where your stuff is?” Taiyang speculated.

“…Uh well this backpack right here is all I have…” I responded as I bowed my head in embarrassment.

“WAIT ARE YOU SERIOUS?” Taiyang gasped in horror.

“…Uh yeah…? I’ve got some clothes, my toothbrush, scroll, headphones…” I explained as I looked down at my arm.

As I was talking about my possessions, I didn’t realize that I still was wearing the green hoodie that he gave me at the fountain this entire time.

“I forgot!” I said as I directed myself to Clover and took off the hoodie to hand to him. “Thanks for earlier, but now I can give this back to you.”

“Judging from the small size of your backpack, you probably don’t even own a hoodie yourself do you?” Clover asked still in shock.

“I-I do have one…it’s inside here…see?” I reassured as I opened my backpack to take out my black hoodie.

“Well now you have two.” Clover claimed as he pushed the hoodie away from him.

“No..you can’t..” I contested.

“I insist.” Clover declared. “Besides, that hoodie is a size too small for me now, I’m still growing, and I have like four other hoodies anyways.”

“Are you serious?” I uttered in disbelief. “I feel like I can fit two of me when I wear it.”

“You aren’t that much shorter than me, and we both know that you are certainly underweight…No offense intended. So, as long as you are my roommate, I’m going to make sure that you get some meat on those bones.” Clover challenged as he gave me the same wink he did at the fountain.

As he said that, I started to become super self-conscious as I reflexively hunched my back and placed my hand against my arm. Seeing this, Clover sighed sympathetically. “Qrow…I know it’s not your fault, and it’s nothing to be ashamed of, but I know that being that underweight is really dangerous for your health in the long-run. We are in this together now Qrow, so I’ll be here to support you in any way I can- starting with making sure that you eat enough so you can start putting on some weight.”

“Yeah! And I will help too because you are my bro now!” Taiyang added with a genuine smile as he punched the front of my right shoulder.

I never have received this level of concern for my well-being during my entire life. Of course, shop-keep noticed and did whatever he could with the little money he had, but I honestly was at a loss for words.

“I-I don’t know what to say… You really don’t have to go to such lengths for someone like-” I blurted out.

“And I’m going to stop your right there.” Clover interrupted. “First thing we seriously need to work on for you is your confidence because it is non-existent. I can tell that you probably have gone through a lot during your life, yet you are here at this school with us, while yet being so humble.”  
“I wouldn’t say I’m all-” I reflexively deject.

“You know, you really shouldn’t deflect compliments like that.” Clover interrupted. “People think that you are more amazing than you realize. I know I do.” Clover said as he smiled at me with a caring expression. “Speaking of which…” Clover continued. “Where’s Luke? He only had one box as well so I set it down on his bed…”

“I think he’s still in the bathroom…” I answered.

I watched as I saw Taiyang sigh and made his way to the bathroom and to knock on the door.

“Hey man you have been in there for some time are you…?” Taiyang stopped as his face changed to a look of concern turning away from the door as he walked towards Clover and myself.

“Something the matter?” Clover questioned.

“I heard Luke… I think I heard him…crying….?” Taiyang confessed.

“Oh man…I hope everything is okay...but something certainly is the matter. I just met him, but he doesn’t seem like the person who would cry over spilled milk” Clover remarked.

“I already knew that this Luke guy had some baggage from the way he was acting… He seemed like the way I was before I met shop-keep.” I thought to myself.

“What should we do?” I blurted out.

Clover then turned his body in a way so that we were all standing in a triangle. “I think that one of us obviously needs to talk to him.”

“But how are we going to do that?” Taiyang inquired as he started to scratch his stubble.

Clover pondered as he placed both of his hands on his head and lightly paced around still staying within our make-shift triangle. “I think… that Qrow should talk to him.”

“Wait, what? Why me?” I asked as I pointed at myself.

“Well, you are much more…what’s the word…nonchalant than the two of us. Maybe he will listen to you better.” Clover explained.

“…I don’t know what to say…” I shrugged honestly. “I’ve never asked someone about their personal life before.”

“Well there’s always a first time for everything, right?” Clover concluded. “

As we all walked toward the door, I took a deep breath, took a step back and then turned around to face Clover and Tai.

“I don’t know if I can do this…” I confessed.

“Relax, everything will be fine… We will be right behind you if you need guidance.” He reassured me.

“If you say so…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's going on in that bathroom? I hope he's okay... What will Qrow do?
> 
> I cannot believe that my first fic already has gotten so many reads and kudos from the community! I first started watching RWBY a couple years ago when my friend remarked that I reminded him of a character named Qrow from the series. I didn't believe him, but then I was certainly proven wrong. I want to let you know that Fair Game means a lot to me and that it has helped me in ways I thought were beyond the realms of salvation. We all are going through a journey, and watching Qrow develop throughout the series has given me a sense of hope as well (I've watched all of V7 so I'm aware of what happened but we don't talk about that).
> 
> I also wanted to let you all know that in the future the rating of this fic will probably change to mature and maybe even explicit due to certain elements... But some of those will not be there for a long while! Midterms are coming up, so I may become busy so please bear with me, but spring break and fair game week are both coming up very soon!


	6. Moving in Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So much chaotic energy.
> 
> \---Trigger Warning!---
> 
> Slight mention of homophobia towards the end of the fic.
> 
> Chat Username References at the end notes!

\----- QROW POV -----

As we all walked toward the door, I took a deep breath, took a step back and then turned around to face Clover and Tai.

“I don’t know if I can do this…” I confessed.

“Relax, everything will be fine… We will be right behind you if you need guidance.” He reassured me.

“If you say so…”

After Clover’s and Tai’s reassurance, I then slowly turned to face the white door again. As I then leaned my ear against the wood, I felt Clover’s and Taiyang’s bodies against my back- probably to try to hear what was going on.  _ “That’s strange, I can’t hear anything…” _ I thought to myself as my hand slowly started to form into a fist to knock on the door…

\-----Clover POV-----

As I saw Qrow turn back towards the door, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride. “I don’t think that Tai would be able to talk any sense to Luke.” I ponder. “From what I’ve seen, he’s a little too… rambunctious for a guy of his demeanor. Sure, I probably could’ve talked to him as well, but I think there’s some talents Qrow has that are dormant right now. Plus, I think that he could relate to him better…”

Shortly after I leaned partially against Qrow’s back along with Tai, I felt my body get pushed onto the floor along with Tai and Qrow as the door to the bathroom flung wide open.

I started to feel a dull pain radiating from my lower back from the fall, as well as from the front part of my pelvis for some reason. As I arched up I realized that Qrow’s head fell right on top of my crotch.  _ “Well that explains that then…” _ I thought as I gently helped Qrow off me, while suppressing the amount of pain I was in.

“Uh…. what are you all doing on the floor?” Luke questioned with a puzzled looked on his face.

“Oh well you know…I heard-” Taiyang confessed.

“That laying on the floor for five minutes a day is good for your mental health!” I said as I covered Taiyang’s mouth.

“Uh-huh…” Luke responded in confusion filling his face until a spark of revelation hit him. “…You know, if you guys were able to hear me, you don’t have to lie about it… I was taking a while in the bathroom so it’s valid that one of you probably needed to use it… Sorry I was taking too long… I’ll try to be a better roommate…” Luke apologetically continued.

“Well since that’s out of the way,” Tai said as he removed my hand off his mouth, “We set your box of stuff on your bed… We were going to ask you about it, but then I realized that you were still in the bathroom after a solid twenty minutes… I got worried so I went to see if you were doing alright in there…Then…I heard you crying… what’s going on bro...?”

“…Sorry to make you worry… Thanks for that…for setting my stuff down…for me…” Luke replied as he looked down towards his feet.

“Please don’t dodge-.” I added.

“…We were worried…” Qrow remarked to my surprise. “…I know that you may have your… secrets… and that’s okay if you don’t want anyone to know…I’m not good at this…but…Y-you…already are a good roommate.” He continued as Luke’s eyes widened and caused his body language to become less-closed off.

_ “YES QROW I KNEW YOU HAD IT IN YOU! Now you just need to learn how to take a friggin compliment!”  _ I rejoiced in my head. “I agree with Qrow that while you have been rather reserved with us, you’re not a bad guy.” I chimed in, shifting both Qrow’s and Luke’s focus onto me. “But now you have to let us be good roommates to you. So, if you are comfortable with telling us, what happened?” I emphasized as I put one of my hands on my hip.

I watched as I saw Luke’s countenance change to one of sadness as he walked himself towards his desk, pulled out a chair, and sat on it. Leaning forward with his elbows resting on his thighs he began. “I have been messaging my aunt lately… let’s just say, my family background isn’t the best. I didn’t say so when everyone was introducing themselves, but a huge reason why I decided to apply to this school was so I could get away from my family…especially one person in particular.” He said as he became more and more serious with each word he spoke. As he was talking, we all pulled up our chairs and sat down as well.

“And who would that be?” Tai questioned innocently.

I saw as Luke took a deep breath and sighed as he made eye-contact with everyone.

“…My brother… Growing up with him was difficult…Things happened between us, that I’m not comfortable sharing with right now.” Luke explained as the topic seemed to strike a nerve.

“That’s fine. Please continue.” I reassured him so that he wouldn’t feel pressured to share anything too sensitive.

“Well, apparently now he’s at this school too!” Luke stated intensely. “I don’t know what I am going to do…Coming to this school was a mistake…He’s going to find me…and…and-”

“And we will be there when that happens.” I responded.

“Yeah! And if he tries to mess with you, I’ll tear him a new one!” Taiyang added as started shadow boxing with a series of punches and uppercuts.

“…We are here for you…” Qrow added as he gave him a faint smile.

_ “Oh, my God. So that’s what he looks like when he smiles…”  _ I thought to myself, as I was taking in the sight, not wanting it to go away.  _ “That’s settled, I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure he is happy, because I want to see a full genuine smile from him.” _ I challenged in my heart as I slowly began to rise from my chair.

“…Uh…thanks guys…it really means a lot…” Luke replied as he sat up straight with the first look of relief he’s had since I’ve seen him. “Let’s finish unpacking so we don’t have these boxes here.” He suggested as he got up from the chair and made his way towards his bed.

“Sounds good to me!” I agreed as I pushed in my chair and started opening the first of my boxes.

“Wow… we seem to be a really good fit together. We haven’t had any conflict, and we almost are finished with our room already…” Qrow commented.

“Yeah, I wonder how the girls are doing…” Taiyang questioned as he was putting his tai dyed shirts into his wardrobe.

\-----Mira POV-----

“I said I don’t want that in front of the window!” Weiss complained as she started to shove Maddy’s plant away from the window.

“But plants need their sunlight! It’s in my plant’s name! Photosynthesis can’t do photosynthesis without sunlight!” Maddy refuted as she pushed the plant back.

“I’m going to have to side with Maddy on this one.” Ruby added. “Plants need their sunlight to survive, and the other window is being blocked by the bed… Besides, you can’t get everything you want all of the time.”

“Ugh, fine!” Weiss conceded. “But, I call sleeping on the bottom bunk in the left side of the room.”

“Why so specific?” I questioned. “Both beds are literally the same anyways, so it shouldn’t really matter…”

“But it does matter!” Weiss snapped. “I have to sleep with my head facing the ocean. It’s good for your sinuses.”

“You have GOT to be kidding me.” Maddy sighed as she face-palmed her head. “We are in Vale, we are nowhere near the ocean…”

“Well thanks to Schoogle, I know that bed is facing the ocean so I’m sleeping there and that’s that!” Weiss concluded as she set an array of dresses on top of the bed.

“Well, I’ve always wanted the top bunk anyways.” Maddy conceded as she started placing a sheet on the bed above Weiss’s.

“Oh, no you don’t!” Weiss expressed with disdain.

“What’s the matter now?” Maddy inquired as she crossed her arms, and released a deep breath forming her mouth into a pout.

“There’s no way in hell that you are sleeping above me!” Weiss growled.

“And why’s that?” Maddy responded clearly offended.

“I don’t want your marijuana smoking- plant obsessed, hippie-ass fumes polluting my immune system.” Weiss asserted.

After she said this, I gasped as I watched Maddy slap Weiss so hard that the “fwap” sound reverberated across the four corners of the room, leaving a red mark on her face.

“I’ve had it up to here with you talking down to us!” Maddy snapped. “Just because you are sugar baby to your filthy rich ass dad doesn’t mean that you can just shit talk everyone you come across!”

“Well sorry that I call this trash can, a trash can, this bunk bed, a bunk bed, this…” Weiss fired back as she pointed at each object she mentioned.

“Guys…can we just try to-“ I cried as I tried to deescalate.

“You see, there it is!” Maddy shot back. “You can’t judge a book based off how it looks on the outside. Trust me, I made that mistake. When I first saw you when Qrow and I entered the room to meet you guys, I thought that you were going to be such a pleasant person. Of course, I could tell that you had money, because not just anyone can afford Gucci anything, but I didn’t want to see you as the stuck-up rich kid everyone can’t stand. You probably even got everything handed to you…”

“…I didn’t get everything handed to me…” Weiss refuted. “Growing up in my family is…difficult. My father married into my family because of her money and then threw her away as soon as he inherited the Schnoogle business. My mother teaches here, but she has wilted away from all the alcohol she has been drinking from the pain… We were forced to be the top at everything… Perfect grades, perfect appearance, perfect manners…anything that was subpar…resulted in less than ideal circumstances. That did not make for an easy or friendly childhood. My friends? Used me for my wealth and status. Siblings? Turned into enemies from the competition of who will inherit the family name, and I had to face everything on my own. I didn’t choose to attend this school. I was expected and forced to go here…No objections…No going against his word…No…” She recounted as tears slowly started to form.

“You see? This is the Weiss I would rather be around.” Ruby responded as she brought a tissue to her.

I saw Maddy take a couple of deep breaths as Weiss began dabbing her eyes with the tissue. “Sorry for thinking that everything got handed to you…Look, I get it. Most of us has probably experienced pain in our past, but the past is the past. Letting it define us is just giving power to the people who hurt us.” Maddy mentioned empathetically. “I’ve been hurt by someone too… and I sure as hell am still grieving over it, but I’m not going to chain that person to me for the rest of my life either!” Maddy proclaimed as she shook her fist to the air. “You are away from him now so nothing bad is going to happen to you anymore.”

“He also teaches here…” Weiss stated as she blew her nose.

“Well, you aren’t alone now.” Ruby responded.

“Yeah…we are here for you.” I added as Ruby turned and smiled at me with a peace sign.

“…Around us, you can be free to be yourself.” Maddy promised as she motioned Weiss to hug her.

“…I’m sorry too…” Weiss admitted as she accepted the hug from Maddy.

“Yes…friendship…” Ruby remarked in delight from the wholesome scene.

“If you promise that our room won’t constantly smell like… weed, I’ll be…nicer.” Weiss said as she pulled away from the hug.

“Not gonna give it a try?” Maddy questioned with a newfound smirk.

“Fat chance hippie.” Weiss playfully remarked.

“There’s just one problem…” I stated innocently as all of them looked at me puzzled.

“What’s the matter, Mira?” Ruby questioned as she made her way towards me with a finger on her lip.

“Well… we have a lot of stuff…” I disclosed as we all looked at the massive pile of boxes, clothes, and décor that were strewn all over the floor.

“I’ve got an idea!” Weiss sparked.

“I’m not liking the sound of this…” Maddy estimated as she shot Weiss a questionable look.

“Oh, hush you!” Weiss insisted. “Look, listen, we all can see that…Photosynthesis is a pretty big plant.”

“Oh, no you don’t…” Maddy objected quickly making her way towards Photosynthesis in protective plant mom mode.

“Just hear me out! There are some windows out by the kitchen. We could put Photosynthesis and maybe some other plants out there for décor! The green leaves make a nice contrast with the white in my opinion.”

“That actually does work.” Ruby remarked.

“Well, as long as my plant gets the sunlight she needs, it works for me.” Maddy answered as she nodded in agreement.

“Well, that takes care of one thing in the fray…” I said. “Now…what are we going to do about these boxes?”

\-----Blake POV-----

“OOOOOOH I love your powder!” Neon remarked as she poked Penny’s forehead. “You really pull the natural look really well!”

“Um, I’m actually not wearing any powder or makeup…” Penny commented as she tilted her head to the side. “I don’t know how…”

“YOU WHAT!” Neon cried as she pretended to faint. “OH, MY GAWD! You could like, so be a guest on the next make-up tutorial video I’m going to post!”

“Oh, my goodness really?” Penny said cheerfully as she clasped both of her hands together. “I’ve always dreamed of having girl-time with friends!”

“Well of course my little fambam! I know the perfect palate that will bring out your eyes with your cute little freckles!” Neon said as she grabbed her hands. “You’re like my little sister now! I’ll teach you everything a girl needs to know about fashion and social media!”

“Oooh this is going to be so much fun!” Penny said they both started jumping up and down in the air while still holding onto each other’s hands.

I couldn’t help but bring a faint little smile to my lips while I inwardly cringed at these two’s outward display of affection and positivity. I swear that I saw a rainbow enter the room through the window…

“Well it looks like they are getting along, huh?” Yang said, yeeting me back to reality.

“…Yeah…It’s nice. I’m glad they aren’t a bunch of crabby girls with clashing personalities.” I reasoned.

“Tell me about it!” Yang agreed as she stretched in place. “They certainly aren’t like the Weiss girl that’s for sure.”

“…Yeah… that girl was starting to bother me.” I added. “All of her talk about Schnoogle made me think about all of the cheap labor that many Faunus are forced to take because of the existing divide between our kind.”

“Well, if it makes you feel better, I don’t think she’s either of our kinds.” Yang joked.

I chuckled lightly and smiled as I considered her eyes that were purple like fields full of lavender.

“OH, MY GAWD!” Neon squealed. “I’VE TOTALLY GOT LIKE THE MOST PERFECT IDEA!”

“What’s up?” Yang questioned with a smile.

“Just all of you, like follow me!” Neon responded as she walked out the room with a giddy Penny.

<Narrator POV>

“HEY GUYS! LIKE CAN YOU COME OUT HERE FOR A SECOND?” Neon screeched while Penny was standing right beside her in front of the TV in the common area.

Everyone then started leaving the rooms gradually until everyone was in the common area. Blake and Yang were chilling out by the couches while Ruby, Mira, and Maddy were sitting at the mini bar with different kinds of energy drinks. Weiss was standing outside her room door with her hip cocked to one side as she had both her arms crossed. Taiyang, Qrow, and Luke were sprawled themselves on the floor while Clover walked right up to Neon.

“Okay everyone’s here. What’s your big announcement that came between planning this week’s schedule?” Weiss remarked.

“Classes haven’t even started yet. What could you possibly have to plan?” Taiyang remarked.

“Uh earth to stupid, but we all have our assessments tomorrow for our class placements you moron.” Weiss snapped.

“Assessments?” Qrow questioned with a lost expression on his face.

“Ugh…you’re hopeless.” Weiss groaned.

“Yo shut up! I wanna hear what Neon has to say!” Maddy fired back.

“What’s on your mind?” Clover inquired.

“So, like we all are gonna be living her like together and stuff. So… we all should like totes have a group chat!” Neon suggested. “I just need all of you to give me your scroll numbers and I’ll make it right now!”

“Come to think of it…we didn’t exchange numbers when we met did we?” Luke chimed in which shocked everyone minus Clover, Qrow, and Tai.

“Alright it’s settled! Everyone hand Neon your scroll so she can create the group chat!” Clover announced.

Everyone then got out their scrolls and handed them to an eager Neon. She would type in the numbers so fast, that Qrow thought it was inhuman.

Just as Neon finished inputting the last number, she jumped up and down while squeezing both of her hands. “Kay thanks guys! I’m gonna like finish making up my part of the room are whatever! See y’all on the group chat!” She said as she dashed into her room.

“Oh god, it’s like almost dinner time.” Mira added as she looked at her scroll.

“Looks, like we lost track of time. Figures why I’m so hungry.” Maddy said.

“Well, let’s finish setting up our rooms together so that we can finally eat!” Clover remarked.

In unanimous agreement, everyone went into their separate rooms and got to work.

__

_ Moderator  _ **_Neon Katt_ ** _ added 11 people to the FAMBAM400 Schnoogle group chat. _

****

**_Neon Katt_ ** _ renamed herself to  _ **_CAFFIN8TEDUWU_ ** _. _

__

**_CAFFIN8TEDUWU_ ** _ renamed Penny as  _ **_C3NNAR011_ **

__

**CAFFIN8TEDUWU:** HIYA FAM BAM! Totes made the group chat so feel free to post like whatever!

**_Ruby Rose_ ** _ renamed herself as  _ **_FastAF_ **

****

**_Mira Violet_ ** _ renamed herself as  _ **_BigGae_ **

****

**Taiyang Xiao Long:** Wow we get to nickname ourselves on this thing! Fuck yes! I shall make all the puns.

**_Taiyang Xiao Long_ ** _ renamed himself as  _ **_TaiDied_ **

**Weiss Schnee:** Oh great, now I’m subject to this horror on my scroll now too.

**Yang Xiao Long:** Lighten up! Puns are a great way of kicking back = >

**_Yang Xiao Long_ ** _ renamed herself as  _ **_OutWIthAYang_ **

****

**_OutWithAYang_ ** _ renamed  _ **_Weiss Schnee_ ** _ as  _ **_IceGremlin_ **

****

**_OutWithAYang_ ** _ renamed  _ **_Blake Belladonna_ ** _ as  _ **_WheresTheCatnip_ **

****

**IceGremlin:** Excuse you? I am not a gremlin!

**OutWithAYang:** Well it was either that or “SchneedsHelp”

**IceGremlin:** … I’ll rather take any name than one that uses my family name as a pun. I am not part of this riff-raff.

**OutWithAYang:** I knew you’d come around ;)

**_TaiDied_ ** _ renamed  _ **_Qrow Branwen_ ** _ as  _ **_EdgyBirb_ **

****

**_TaiDied_ ** _ renamed  _ **_Luke Cross_ ** _ as  _ **_Stick_ **

****

**Stick:** … Why…

**TaiDied:** Cause you literally weigh less than Qrow who is like border-line anorexic.

**Stick:** no comment

**EdgyBirb:** no comment

**EdgyBirb:** what the hell is up with my name?

**Maddy Savage:** I may have suggested it from an earlier conversation from the auditorium…

**_Maddy Savage_ ** _ renamed herself as  _ **_FeralTherapist_ **

**EdgyBirb:** I have no words…

**Feral Therapist:** Just let it happen…Just let it happen ;)

**_TaiDied_ ** _ renamed  _ **_Clover Ebi_ ** _ as  _ **_FisherOfMen_ **

****

**FisherOfMen:** Oh god. I knew mistakes were made.

**FeralTherapist:** YESSIR! Explain ;)

**TaiDied:** The man has got an entire mini-fridge dedicated to live bait for crying out loud. All he brought was clothes and fishing gear XD

**FeralTherapist:** But are you alluding to something with the “Men” part of the name? ;)

****

**TaiDied:** Come on bro! Tell everyone else what you told me!

**EdgyBirb:** ...What’s going on?

**FisherOfMen:** Um, well I was going to way to tell you guys this, but I’m gay.

**FeralTherapist:** Oh, my god congrats!

**CAFFIN8TEDUWU:** OMG I TOTALLY I KNEW IT! MY gaydar is never rong XD

**IceGremlin:** wrong*

**BigGae:** yay! All the gays!

**FastAF:** Oh yeah, I’m gay like suuuuuper gay.

**FisherOfMen:** As an ice-breaker, I think that everyone should put what their sexual orientation is. As you know, I am indeed gay.

**TaiDied:** I’m straight as a board :P

**FastAF:** Gay for cookies here!

**CAFFIN8TEDUWU:** I’m like hella lesbian.

**IceGremlin:** I also am indeed attracted to the same gender- but what is said in this group stays in this group otherwise I will slit anyone who exposes me from navel to nose.

**OutWithAYang:** Ooh so feisty XD I’m also lesbian

**WheresTheCatnip:** Gay

**FeralTherapist:** I’m bisexual. It depends more on the individual person rather than their gender for me.

**C33NNAR011:** I’m not sure yet… I think everyone is nice…and how do you read my name?

**CAFFIN8TEDUWU:** It is read as “cinna-roll”. I called you that cause you are so sweet you can give us all diabetes!

**C33NNAR011:** Awwww you are so sweet! I don’t fully know what sexual orientation means.

**FeralTherapist:** She must be protected

**OutWithAYang:** She must be protected

**WheresTheCatnip:** She must be protected

**CAFFIN8TEDUWU:** We must protect her innocence at all costs!

**BigGae:** Have you read my name? Do you really need to ask?

**BigGae:** Also, she must be protected

**FisherOfMen:** Alright now that just leaves Qrow and Luke…

**EdgyBirb:** I’d rather not…

**Stick:** ^^

  
  


**_FisherOfMen_ ** _ added  _ **_EdgyBirb_ ** _ and  _ **_2 others_ ** _ into Team CQTL Group Chat _

__

**FisherOfMen:** Alright it’s just us now. Qrow, Luke there’s nothing to be ashamed of.

**EdgyBirb:** Did you really just make this group chat just for us to talk about this?

**FisherOfMen:** Well, it was only a matter of time since we are in the same learning team after all.

**EdgyBirb:** Ok that’s valid.

**FisherOfMen:** Alright, so I don’t mean to pry too much, but why aren’t you comfortable sharing what your sexual orientation is? We are in the 21 st century now, so no one’s going to judge you here.

**EdgyBirb:** Sorry… I just don’t understand how everyone can casually admit such a personal aspect about themselves. Don’t get me wrong, Mistral was a very peaceful place growing, and I was not around my parents enough to know if they were homophobic or not, but Mistral was not very accepting…

**FisherOfMen:** Sorry, I never considered that. My parents always supported me as soon as I came out to them. They told me that they always knew and that they were just waiting for me to confide in them. Sometimes it takes just a small step of faith to make a world of difference.

**Stick:** Yeah that wouldn’t fly with my parents… They are extremely religious and I would get excommunicated and disowned if they found out that I support LGBTQA+. I’ve never told anyone this before…but for some reason I want to trust you guys…and that maybe this is a safe space for me… So here it goes…I’m bisexual guys…

**FisherOfMen:** I’m proud of you, and that is totally normal. You are loved and accepted here.

**TaiDied:** Cannot relate, but you are my bro so I’m proud of you too! We pretty much are like closer than family now since I know your “secret”.

**Stick:** Thanks…I suppose so…

**EdgyBirb:** Just a little bit of faith, huh? Well, I’ve left everything behind so I might as well just come out and say it… I’m also bisexual.

**FisherOfMen:** That’s awesome! I’m so happy for the both of you!

**EdgyBirb:** I feel like a weight I didn’t know was there is now lifted off my shoulders…

**Stick:** ^^

**FisherOfMen:** So, are you going to tell everyone else?

**EdgyBirb:** Yeah…why not?

**Stick:** We are in this together…

\-----FAMBAM SCHNOOGLE GROUP CHAT-----

**FisherOfMen:** Everyone! Qrow and Luke have something to say!

**FeralTherapist:** Yessir!

**BigGae:** We are all ears!

**EdgyBirb:** Thanks to Clover, I feel like I can trust you all enough to say this… but I’m bisexual.

**Stick:** Yeah we both are bi actually.

**CAFFIN8TEDUWU:** OH MY GOD YASSS THIS IS SO WHOLESOME! WE LITERALLY ARE LIKE THE GAY SQUAD PLUS TAIYANG!

**TaiDied:** Hey I wear tie dye so can I be an unofficial lesbian?

**BigGae:** Sorry dude, but that shit’s earned.

**TaiDied:** >:(

**FastAF:** Oh my God I’m so happy for you two!

**IceGremlin:** This is great and all, and believe me, I’m happy for you both, but it’s getting really late and we still haven’t figured out where we all are going to eat yet.

**TaiDied:** Wouldn’t we just go to the dining hall?

**IceGremlin:** We would, except the facilities will not open until 5pm on the day before classes start.

**FastAF:** AAAAAGHH What the hell are we supposed to do about food?

**WheresTheCatnip:** We could always get some groceries so we can make some ourselves until classes start…

**IceGremlin:** As in make from scratch…ourselves?

**OutWithAYang:** LOL you don’t know how to cook?

**IceGremlin:** I know how to boil an egg…

**BigGae:** The privilege is real.

**IceGremlin:** What? Didn’t you all have a cake butler growing up?

**BigGae:** …Like I said…the privilege is real.

**Stick:** ...Well I do know how to cook…

**FeralTherapist:** Well this is a surprise! What do you know how to make?

**Stick:** It’s no big deal… I had to cook for myself a lot growing up…Does fried chicken sound good?

**FisherOfMen:** You can’t live life fully without a good fried chicken!

**C3NNAR011:** RT

**Stick:** RT

**TaiDied:** RT

**BigGae:** RT

**FisherOfMen:** I remember my mom’s recipe for mashed potatoes so I can make that on the side =)

**EdgyBirb:** …You sound like you were a momma’s boy…

**FisherOfMen:** Yup! Sure was and am! I have two moms so I got double the mothering.

**Stick:** This explains a lot of things…

**FastAF:** I can make chocolate chip cookies!

**EdgyBirb:** I do know how to stir fry vegetables…

**BigGae:** I’ll make Mac N’ Cheese!

**FisherOfMen:** Alright! Let’s all go out to town right now so we have enough time to buy everything we need for the food and for other things you may have forgotten for you room, or think that would be useful for the house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wonder what 12 hungry young adults are going to do when they go on shopping spree...
> 
> Chat usernames:
> 
> Ruby - FastAF  
> Mira - Big Gae  
> Clover - FisherOfMen  
> Qrow - EdgyBirb  
> Weiss - IceGremlin  
> Neon - CAFFIN8TEDUWU  
> Yang - OutWithAYang  
> Penny - C3NNAR011  
> Maddy - FeralTherapist   
> Taiyang - TaiDied  
> Blake - WheresTheCatnip  
> Luke - Stick

**Author's Note:**

> Well there you have it! Our Qrow is off to a new horizons! What will they bring? I wonder... Please feel free to leave any suggestions or feedback in the comments! I'm very invested in this fic, and I'm honestly so excited to be writing it! Thanks for reading :)
> 
> By the way, if you are into more fair game, feel free to check out the discord server that helped inspire this AU: https://discord.gg/wZ5fkjm


End file.
